1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing anti-allergic surfaces, where the anti-allergic properties are achieved, for example, by coating with silica particles.
2. Discussion of the Background
About 15% of the German population is allergic to house dust. However, people allergic to house dust do not actually react to dust but to the allergens which are present in the dust and come into contact with the body together with the dust, e.g. via respiration. Examples of typical allergens are grass pollen and floral pollen. House dust mites are responsible for a further major proportion of house dust allergy, since many people have an allergic reaction to their feces or constituents of the same. There are mites in many locations within a house, e.g. in mattresses, pillows, covers, or thick carpets. The food used by the mites is organic particles, in particular human or animal skin dander.
A wide variety of methods is nowadays used to reduce mite numbers. Besides wet-wiping or washing of contaminated surfaces, intensive vacuum-cleaning of the surfaces provides temporary relief, and the vacuum cleaners used here should be those which have high suction power and have an exhaust-air particle filter. The vacuum-cleaning method is often used particularly in the case of carpets, fleeces and bedside rugs, but without achieving lasting results, since complete cleaning is generally impossible.
Many applications have disclosed self-cleaning surfaces which can be cleaned by water set in motion. The advantage of these surfaces is that even small amounts of water are sufficient to free the surfaces completely from dust and other contamination. None of these applications describes the production of articles with anti-allergic surfaces.